Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space-Chapter 51. Eight taels

Thinking about it, she had only been in this family for two months, yet her mischievous brother had already been brought back by villagers no less than five times. His level of mischief was quite imaginable.

With such a rare opportunity to send him off, Hua Jin wouldn’t let it slip by easily.

"Hey... Sis," Xiaosi anxiously grabbed his sister’s hand, "Sis, I didn’t say no, I just need to think about it, right?"

He spoke with an obvious lack of confidence, feeling guilty.

But it’s really difficult. The gang in the village simply wouldn’t settle down if not tended to in a few days. How can he endure it?

Xiaosi truly felt like crying but had no tears to shed. But... the allure of a slingshot was strong too!

"Make sure, and don’t backtrack. If you can’t manage it once, I won’t let it go," Hua Jin raised an eyebrow.

Xiaosi bit his teeth. For the sake of the slingshot, he gritted his teeth and nodded, "A man is as good as his word. Sis, you’re definitely giving me the slingshot."

Seeing her brother take the bait, Hua Jin laughed, "Alright, let’s see how you behave."

Leaving behind the dejected Xiaosi, she greeted Sister Kitten and headed home.

However, once he thought about soon owning a slingshot, his spirits quickly rose again.

It’s just about behaving well this month; he was confident he could do it.

Xiaosi pumped his fists to motivate himself and quickly chased after his sister, who had gone far ahead.

"Sis... wait for me."

...

The next day, after bringing his son back, Hua Chengtian accompanied his daughter to town once more.

It wasn’t the market day, so the streets were noticeably quieter. Watching the crowd, Hua Jin contemplated.

She had a clear goal and did not linger; getting into a cart, they arrived directly at the embroidery shop entrance.

By now, the sun was high, and the embroidery shop was open for business.

Hua Jin jumped off the ox cart, followed closely by Mrs. Qi.

It wasn’t convenient for a man like Hua Chengtian to accompany his daughter into the embroidery shop; Mrs. Qi, unable to rest easy, decided to join, holding her daughter’s hand as they entered.

Seeing the young women and brides inside, Hua Chengtian eventually decided not to go in, opting to wait by the ox cart on the roadside.

The shopkeeper Zou, who was accepting money inside the embroidery shop, looked up, his eyes lighting up, especially when he saw what Hua Jin was holding. He hurriedly called for the attendant to serve the customers at the counter.

"Oh, Mrs. Qi, Jin’er, you’re here!" saying this, Shopkeeper Zou stepped out from behind the counter.

"It’s been a few days, and Jin’er is even more spirited," Shopkeeper Zou was truly fond of the delicate, fair-skinned, and ever-smiling Hua Jin.

"Mrs. Qi, how do you give birth to such a child?"

This remark left Mrs. Qi not knowing how to respond, forcing her to smile back.

Shopkeeper Zou was just expressing his amazement, not expecting a reply.

With not many people in the shop at this time, Shopkeeper Zou directly led Hua Jin and her mother to the back room behind the shopfront, where she usually rested and also entertained female customers.

"Have a seat. Thirsty? Have some tea," saying this, he picked up the tea kettle kept warm on the stove.

"Thank you, Shopkeeper Zou," Mrs. Qi accepted it and thanked him.

Hua Jin also sweetly expressed her thanks.

A cup of tea was enough to forgo any unnecessary courtesy.

Seeing the mother and daughter had finished their tea, the somewhat impatient Shopkeeper Zou spoke up.

"I wonder why you’re here today..." Shopkeeper Zou looked at the drawing papers on the table, hope glinting in his eyes.

Hua Jin didn’t dilly-dally and spread out the drawing papers on the table, displaying them one by one for Shopkeeper Zou’s review.

As each sheet was turned over, Shopkeeper Zou’s eyes glowed brighter, especially when he saw the last few sheets, holding them carefully and repeatedly praising them.

Then, looking at Hua Jin as if she were a treasure, his eyes burning with desire for what Hua Jin, seemingly a calm child, sat composedly, smiling gently. Any other child might not have dared to meet his gaze.

Finally, the prices for the designs remained the same, but the price for the last five exploded Mrs. Qi once again.

One drawing sold for one tael, and five drawings totaled five taels of silver, combined with twenty designs in total amounting to eight taels.

The price left Mrs. Qi pleasantly surprised and speechless for a moment, dumbfounded as she accepted the silver handed over by the shopkeeper.

The silver almost equaled the income from their ten-plus acres of land.

This year had been relatively good; the harvest was slightly better than previous years. An acre yielded more than two stones, and after taxes, apart from the two stones of wheat kept at home, they sold for over ten taels of silver.

The ten-plus taels appeared substantial, but don’t forget the family had two scholars to support.

Considering the over one tael from last time, Hua Jin had nearly earned ten taels on her own through drawing. Mrs. Qi couldn’t recall how she managed to walk out of that embroidery shop.

Vivid recollection had Shopkeeper Zou telling her daughter that he would take as many of such pattern drawings as possible.

"What happened?"

Hua Chengtian came by with the ox cart, worriedly observing his somewhat dazed wife.

But... if he was not mistaken, the shopkeeper had escorted them out with smiles.

"Nothing, just a bit excited. Let me calm down for a moment," Mrs. Qi said, glancing sideways at her child’s father and clutching her pounding chest.

Ah... understood.

Seeing his relaxed daughter, Hua Chengtian didn’t speak further.

... Looks like it sold for another good price.

He then let the mother and daughter ride the ox cart away from the embroidery shop.

"Dad, stop."

From afar, Hua Jin saw a bookstore and hastily shouted.

Hua Chengtian quickly drew in the reins, curiously looking at his daughter, his eyes filled with question marks?

Hua Jin said, "Dad, I want to take a look at the bookstore?"

His daughter had always been studious, so Hua Chengtian wasn’t surprised. Since she wanted to visit the bookstore, how could a doting father like Hua Chengtian object? He quickly nodded.

Seeing her father’s approval, Hua Jin promptly dragged her mother, who had just calmed down, into the bookstore.

Noticing her daughter choose a set of paints, Mrs. Qi couldn’t help but ask, "Daughter, can you still use these?"

Weren’t the previous ones good enough, and didn’t they sell for a good price? Honestly, she didn’t understand why her daughter wanted to buy more paints.

"Mom, if I add bright colors to those patterns, won’t they be more eye-catching? Maybe the shopkeeper will increase the price again."

What she said wasn’t without reason; indeed, more exquisite things often commanded different prices. She quickly stopped worrying about the cost of the paints.

Though they were expensive, her daughter earned the money herself, so she could spend it as she wished.

She thought they would leave after buying paints, but to her surprise, her daughter wandered around the bookstore again, then picked out two more books.

Mrs. Qi glanced at them, but not being literate, she didn’t know what books they were. She figured they must be useful; otherwise, her child wouldn’t choose them, so she didn’t stop her either.

She only felt a twinge of heartache when paying; the paints, two books, and a stack of papers nearly cost two taels of silver.

"Mom, don’t worry, your daughter can earn it back." Right after leaving the store, Hua Jin linked arms with her mother, comforting Mrs. Qi.

Not just her mother, she too found it expensive; two taels of silver could sustain an ordinary family for over a year. Some families might not even save up two taels in a year or two. That’s why it’s said that achieving success from a humble background is hard.

... It’s hard because of money.

"Mom, take it easy; we’ll be fine." Patting her daughter’s hand, Mrs. Qi composed herself much more after mounting the ox cart.

Since the money was spent, feeling regret would be pointless.

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They didn’t linger in town either; they had everything at home. The meat and fish they bought last time hadn’t been finished, so there was nothing more to purchase.

On the way back, Mrs. Qi couldn’t resist sharing with the child’s father about earning eight taels of silver, causing Hua Chengtian to wear a proud smile all the way home. The look in his eyes when observing his daughter was filled with pride!

Once home, Mrs. Qi placed the silver Hua Jin had earned on the table. Excluding Xiaosi who ran out to play, the family was once again in awe.